BOUNTIFUL, Utah — A Bountiful family spent Christmas without their missing dog, thinking all hope was lost that she’d return.
Almost two weeks later, a hiker made an inspiring discovery.
Emma Hicks’ hike of the Elephant Rock Trail turned into a rescue mission Friday when she came across the dog right near the top.
“I was like, ‘Oh, just another off-leash dog,” said Hicks. “I didn’t think anything of it, but it kept getting closer and closer and there was no owner anywhere.”
She knew something was wrong. The dog was too skinny. Hicks could see her ribs and her paws were bleeding.
The German wirehaired pointer had no tags on its collar, but Hicks was able to use her fanny pack to make a leash.
The duo made it two miles until the pup couldn’t go on anymore. Hicks had to sling it across her back for the remainder of the way down.
“We did probably the last mile down on my shoulders,” she said. “You could tell she was just so exhausted.”
During the descent, Hicks called her family for help. Her sister was able to find the owners on social media.
“Before I was even able to get down the mountain with the dog, he was calling me,” she said. “I was like, ‘Hi, this is Emma.’ He was like, ‘I can’t believe you found my dog.’”
Turns out the dog named Jane had survived the snowy mountains for twelve days. Her family thought she was dead and killed by coyotes.
It was an emotional moment reuniting her with her owners.
“She definitely had grit and you could tell she wanted to make it back to her family,” said Hicks.
